what is hamas

Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It was founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and its goal is to liberate Palestine, including modern-day Israel, from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Hamas has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. It governs more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, European Union, Canada, Egypt, and Japan. It has a power base in Gaza, but it also has supporters across the Palestinian territories, and it has leaders spread across the Middle East in countries including Qatar. Iran provides it with material and financial support, and Turkey reportedly harbors some of its top leaders.